Swimming pool cleaning method and apparatus



Jan. 22, 1963 s. F. vARlAN 3,074,078

SWIMMING Poor. CLEANING MEM-Ion AND APPARATUS Filed July 6, 1959 S/eulenl-T VAR/AN INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y 9745273 SWIt/HVHNG POL CLEANENG METHD AND AFFARATUS igurd F. Varian, 24 Aliso Way, Menlo larh, Calif. rees any s, resa, ser. No. 325,263 13 Claims. (Si. 4-72) The present invention relates in general to a swimming pool cleaning method and apparatus and more specifically to a novel silt agitator for keeping silt in suspension which would otherwise settle out on the vbottom of the pool, such that the suspended silt may be readily removed by the pools normal water filter apparatus.

Airborne dust blown into a swimming pool settles to the bottom of the pool forming a silt deposit. This silt deposit gives the pool an unsightly appearance and heretofore has been difricult to remove. One prior art method for removing the deposit is to brush down the bottom and sides of the pool preferably toward the main pool drain. Brushing removes some of the silt but much of the silt is merely brushed up into suspension and soon settles out after brushing is completed. Another prior art method for removing7 silt is to vacuum the pool with an underwater pool vacuum cleaner as taught in US. 2,725,356. vacuuming the pool is a tedious time consuming chore and like ybrushing stirs much of the silt up into suspension only to settle out after vacuuming is completed.

The present invention provides a simple, inexpensive, automatic silt agitator apparatus which Works itself back and forth in a random fashion over the bottom and sides of the swimming pool thereby keeping silt in suspension, such that the pool water circulating and filtering system may remove the silt. The automatic silt agitator apparatus includes a length of hose having water forced therethrough under pressure whereby the reactive force on the free end of the hose, produced by the discharging water, causes the free end of the hose to writhe about the bottom and sides of the pool. charging water and the motion of the hose agitates the silt putting it into suspension to be pulled into the pool lter system through the pool water circulating suction line usually located in the main drain.

The principal obiect of the present invention is to provide simple and inexpensive apparatus for automatically preventing undesired deposits of silt in swimming pools while not interfering with normal use of the pool.

Gne feature of the present invention is the provision of a self-propelled length of hose adapted for the flow of water therethrough under pressure to agitate silt deposits on the bottom and sides or" the swimming pool.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a novel silt agitating hose which is compatible for use with the typical pool water circulating system whereby the expense of the silt agitating apparatus is minimized.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of means for connecting the silt agitating hose to the ltered pool water return line whereby the water level in the pool is not altered by use of the novel silt agitator hose and separate feed hoses running over the pool bank are not required.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of distinctive markings and/ or reptile characteristic features on the silt agitating hose thereby providing a fascinating and amusing toy.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a novel simple and inexpensive pool silt agitator hose and nozzle assembly in which the hose is necked down at the free end thereof to form the nozzle.

Other further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon a perusal of the The force of the dis? arrest Patented dan. 22, 1h53 ree following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a swimming pool utilizing the novel pool cleaning method and apparatus of the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a transverse cross sectional view of the structure of FIGURE 1 taken along line 2-2 in the direction of the arrows,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detail cross sectional view of the hose and nozzle of the present invention delineated by line 5-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged side elevational View of an alternative nozzle assembly of the present invention, and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged alternative portion of the structure of FIGURE 1r delineated by line 5 5.

Referring now to FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings there is shown a typical homeowners private swimming pool 1. Such a pool is typically 15-20 feet wide, 30-40 feet long and 7-10 feet deep at the deepest point.

A main drain 2 is normally provided at the deepest point in the pool 1. The main drain 2 together with a skimmer drain 3, at or near the water level of the pool l, are connected by pipes 4 and lt and valves Ztl to the suction side of a pool circulating pump S.

The pool circulating pump 5 normally raises the pressure of the water to between l0 and 25 pounds per square inch and has a capacity of between l0 and 8O` gallons per minute. The pool water under pressure is then fed to a Water filter 6 as of, for example, the sand type for removing silt and other foreign matter suspended in the pool water. l

A water heater 7 takes the ltered pool water and heats it as necessary to maintain the desired water temperature in the pool. The heated water is fed to a pool inlet 8 via pool water return line 9.

It has been discovered that there are several ways in which a novel silt agitating hose 11 of the present invention may be compatibly` connected into an existing pool water circulating and iltering system. Each of these ways will be described below.

One factor to be considered, when connecting the hose 11 of the present invention into the filtering system, is that the typical water filter 6 normally operates more eiiiciently when a back pressure of between 5 and 19 p.s.i. is provided. This back pressure keeps air in Water solution within the filter to prevent collection of air bubbles within the lter medium thereby deleteriously affecting the ltering capacity. The back pressure for iilter 6 is normally derived by the provision of a restriction 12 in the pool water return line 9 as, for example, by a l() foot length of 3A pipe connected in series with the typical 2 diameter return line 9. Thus the pool return v/ater entering the pool l at the inlet t; has relatively fast ilow at a relatively low pressure as, for example, l-5 p.s.i.

Another factor to Ybe considered, when connecting the lose l1 of the present invention into the ilter system, 's that the total filtered flow of pool water should not be restricted below the minimum liow rate necessary to provide the minimum number of filtered pool water exchanges per 24 hour period. Typically it is desirable to filter the entire volume of the pool every 24 hours. Since the typical homeowners pool has a volume of between 15,G0O and 35,000 gallons a continuously operating pump 5 preferably provides a filtered liow rate' of at least 10 gallons per minute.

In one embodiment of the present invention the low pressure fast How pool return water emerging at the outlet 8, downstream from the restriction i2, may be utilized for operating the novel silt agitating hose 11. In this case the hose l1 is connected to the pool water outlet 8 and some or lall of the filtered pool return water is run through the silt agitating hose 11, Hose 11. preferablyoters little resistance to the water flow and due to thel relatively large capacity ow very little if any restriction below the diameter of restriction 12 is utilized in a nozzle 1 3, at the free end of the hose 11. A suite able hose 11 for use' downstream'of'a 3/4" inside diameter, restriction 12 is a to 2 inch'insidediameter, 2(1-40 foot; length of thin walled plastic hose material as,Y for examplegvinyl having an effective speciiic gravity, slightlyy higher than water and havingV a nozzle opening of. approximately 1/2 in diameter.` The typical 10T-80 gallons perv minutewater ow dischargingV fron-iV the nozzle 13 of the silt agitating hose 11 stirs up the silt 'deposits at the bottom andjsidesofthe pool. Thestirred up siltv is picked up at the mainA drain 2 and` circulated, through the pool filter 6 thereby removingjthe silt.

The reactive force on; theA silt'l agitatingghose 11 produced bythe-dischargingwater causes, the hose 11`to `be self-propelled in airandom fashionover substantially the entire `interior surface of-thejpool 1. The proper combination'of'hose stiffness, hosepmaterial density anddischargeV flow rate are best determinedempirically in each case; The' aforementioned parameters` being proportioned to cause the freeend of the hose .11 to trace a curvilinear track over the, pool interior sur faces, a preponderance of' the trackjhavinga radius ofv `curvaturein excessof 4 feet Wherebythe h'ose 11is caused to range over relatively large distances within'the` pool 1. If the track has less curvature,it`he hjose will enter intoy rapid lashing oscillationsasA obtainable iff the hoseY has very little stiffnessV and a strong reactive force exfertedv on the end thereof. n the; other hand, the hosev shouldY not be excessively stil'or itwill'lip outofthe water causingrwater to besprayed outof the pool4 1 Vor.l become lodged in a corner ofthe pool.

The following is an example of a silt agitating hose installation in which the hose 11 is connected 'to the return poo`l water outlet 8 `downstream ofthe restriction 12.'

In thisparticular case a 15,000 gallonV capacity pool 1 had two 3%" outlets 8 verticallyispacedvapart jone above the other and being/fedA from a diameter restrictionA L12 via Va T; not shown.

The Vpump Shad acapacityofgallonsper minutev whenl connected to pump the pool Iwater int-o a low impedance sewer, not shownj 'The pump. Siwas capable of delivering aV ZGfgallon per minutewow rate throughV the ilter't, heater 7, restriction 12 andout through the two outlets 8. A 4o foot length or diameter, 0.0-3o

wall thickness, vinyl hose having a specific gravity of 1.2

and sold under Minnesota Minings trademark Airliex was connected directly,` via suitable fittings, to the upper outlet 8. The free end of the hose 11 was necked down to` forma 1/2" diameter opening.

The lower outlet S was' provided with a nozzle restricting the lower outlet opening tov 1/2" diameter thereby tendingto equalize the impedance of the discharge iiow paths from the two outlets 8l 'and raising the back pressure at the pump from, 16 tcl8 psi.,` This increased back pressure on the pump 5 reduced the filtered ow rate by approximately 50% to l0 gallons perminute, 5 gallons tl'rrough eachk outlet`8. The silt agitating hosell 'ranged over-'95% of theV submerged bottom and sides of the pool I'keeping 4it free of silt deposits while still permitting the iilter system toiilter the pool volume once every 24 hours.

Inv another'embodiment of 'the present invention the silt agitating hose 11 is 'compatibly opera-ted. with the pool water Vcirculating system by diverting less than 25% o fthe Vpool return water around the restriction 12;*Y More specifically, a suitable conduit 14 as,` for example, a fs outside diameter tubing is connected into the piping upstreamof the restriction 12 and downstrearnof the pumpk 5. The conduit114 is connectedto one end of 'the silt agitating hose 11at 15.

typically available 'for operation of Athe'hose-llwith relaeter nozzle 13," as shown in FIGURE 3, to provide ai maximum reactive force of water discharge for agitating silt deposits andmovingthe hose about the pool. The water iiow rate through the above exemplary hose 11 was one quart per minute.

In another embodiment of the` present invention'the novel siltA agitatinghose 1L iscompatibly connected to a pool waterV circulating system in which thejback pressure for the lter is supplied'by the silt agitatinghose 11 and therefore the necessity of the separate restriction 12 is eliminated.

In this casethere is norestriction 12, the pool water' returnl line 9V oiiersY little impedance tov water how andi the siltyagitating hose 11' is connected to the pool outletv 8. The dimensions ofthe hose 11. are selectedto yield aj large capacityl flow of 10-80 gallons per rninutel at 5*-30 p.s;i.V as` required for effective filtering. The pr'es-- surejdrop provided'by the hose 11 maybe taken' ,along itslength as by a 1"'diameter 20440 foot length of hose' withA only a slight if "any restriction at the nozzle 13. In the alternative; the pressure drop may be taken. at. the nozzle,13. In thelatter case the hose 11 may have a diameter of between l'2',' or greater with a restriction at the nozzle 13 to 41 of an inch or less but of su'icient. diametertdyield the required relatively large iiow rate of between 1 0-80I gallonsV perhminute for proper` filtering` 'In' another embodiment of the present' invention the siltagitating hose llisvprrovided with distinctivemarkingsv as, of, forexarnple, in the form, of stripes, spots, rings, or merely solid 'color to give the` illusiony otfa. reptile fanciful or` otherwise and to clearly distinguish the hose. 11 from the typical solid'white background color, They illusion may be further enhanced (see FIGURE 4) Vby the provisionof a snake-like head. 16t aiiixed yover the nozzle 13` at 'the free end'of the'hose 11, or, by decorating the endY ofthe hose as illustrated` in FIGURES by' placing the head-ofV the reptile inter` mediate ythe hose and the tailoffthe reptile at thefree end`of the hose 11.

The random life-like gyrations and writhing of the so decorated silt'agitating hose 1v1. creates a fascinating and amusing4 toy while performingits normal pool cleaning function.V

The foregoing detailed description of the inventionl is: not to be taken as restrictive of the same as it is obvious that minor variations in design may be made Ywithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is: v

1. The method for cleaning the interior walls oi a swimming pool of ysilt deposits .including the steps ofz' submergingat least a free end portion of a hose adjacent to the interior-walls 0f the swimming pool; discharging. water through the free end of the hose to stir up silt.

deposits and to selffpropel the hose due to the reactive` force of the discharging water on the free end thereof; proportioningrthe elective density ofthe hose; stiffness ofA the hose, and water flow through the hoseto cause the.

automatically cleaned as the pool water is recirculated without altering the pool water level.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the step of discharging water through the hose includes the step of discharging less than 25% of the circulated pool water iiow and less than 5 gallons per minute through the hose at a water pressure applied to the hose of between 5 and 30 pounds per square inch.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the step of discharging water through the hose includes the step of discharging at least a portion of the circulated pool water ow and more than 3 gallons of water per minute through the hose at a pressure of less than 5 pounds per square inch.

5. The method according to claim 2 wherein the step of discharging water through the hose includes the step of discharging more than gallons per minute of ltered pool water through the hose with a pressure drop through the hose of more than 5 pounds per square inch for providing a back pressure for the pool water filter.

6. Apparatus for cleaning silt deposits from a pool including, a pump having its suction side connected to draw water from the pool and its pressure side connected for returning the water to the pool, a water filter connected for filtering the pool water, a silt agitating hose connected downstream of said pump in the pressure side thereof, said silt agitating hose having a free end thereof for discharge of water therethrough, said hose being submerged at its free end adjacent to the interior wall surface of the pool, whereby the discharging water circulated by the pump stirs up the silt deposits on the bottom and side of the pool and the reactive force on the free end of said hose self-propels said hose over the interior surfaces of the pool.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said silt agitating hose is submerged adjacent to the interior surface of the pool for in exceses of 90% of its length within the pool whereby said silt agitating hose does not interfere with normal use of the pool.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said hose is connected directly to a xed pool water outlet at an interior wall of the pool whereby said silt agitating hose does not interfere with normal use of the pool.

9. Apparatus according to claim 6 including a water How restriciton in the pressure side of said pump downstream of said filter and upstream of said silt agitating hose for supplying a back pressure in excess of five pounds per square inch to said filter, and said silt agitating hose connected downstream of said restriction and being dimensioned to discharge therethrough at least a portion of the filtered pool return water at a flow rate in excess of 3 gallons per minute at a pressure of less than tive pounds per square inch.

10. Apparatus according to claim 6 including means for diverting less than of the circulated pool water ow through said silt agitating hose whereby a relatively low iiow capacity silt agitating hose is utilized and a restricting nozzle at the free end of said hose for discharging water at relatively high velocity whereby eiiicient use of the diverted circulated pool water ilow is obtained.

11. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said silt agitating hose has a certain combination of eective density, stiffness and force of reaction due to discharge iiow therethrough to cause the free end of said hose to trace a random curvilinear track over the interior surface of the pool, said curvilinear track having a radius of curvature greater than four feet for in excess of of its length, whereby said hose is caused to range over relatively large distances within said pool.

12. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said silt agitating hose is connected downstream of said iilter on the pressure side of said pump, said hose being dimensioned for discharge of in excess of 10 gallons per minute with applied water pressure in excess of iive pounds per square inch, and being further dirnensioned that the discharge of water through said hose produces a pressure drop of in excess of tive pounds per square inch whereby back pressure for said filter is obtained.

13. Apparatus for cleaning silt deposits from a swimming pool including a water pump having its suction side connected to draw water from the pool and its pressure side connected for returning the water to the pool; a water filter connected to said pump for ltering the pool water; means for agitating silt deposits on the interior wall surfaces of the pool; said silt agitating means including substantially solely, a conduit for passing therethrough returning pool water from said pump, one end or" said conduit being connected to the pressure side of said water pump, said conduit entering the pool through an opening in an interior side wall thereof, at least 90% of the length of said conduit from the opening in the interior side wall of the pool to the free end of said conduit being submerged within the pool water, at least a portion of the submerged length of said conduit including the terminating free end portion being made of materials having a certain effective density and stiffness whereby due to the discharge of water therethrough said free end portion is caused to trace a random curvilinear track over the sides and bottom of the pool, said track having a radius of curvature for a preponderance of its length in excess of 4 feet.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 199,816 Fiske Ian. 29, 1878 1,757,278 Weidman May 6, 1930 1,806,740 Butterworth May 26, 1931 1,826,015 Morton Oct. 6, 1931 1,978,015 Erdman Oct. 23, 1934 1,982,258 Martin Nov. 27, 1934 1,982,259 Martin Nov. 27, 1934 2,241,337 Work May 6, 1941 2,381,213 Forman Aug. 7, 1945 2,622,926 Cammann Dec. 23, 1952 2,674,065 Sprinkle Apr. 6, 1954 2,844,912 Sebesta July 29, 1958 2,919,027 Blumenfeld Dec. 29, 1959 

1. THE METHOD FOR CLEANING THE INTERIOR WALLS OF A SWIMMING POOL OF SLIT DEPOSITS INCLUDING THE STEPS OF: SUBMERGING AT LEAST A FREE END PORTION OF A HOSE ADJACENT TO THE INTERIOR WALLS OF THE SWIMMING POOL; DISCHARGING WATER THROUGH THE FREE END OF THE HOSE TO STIR UP SLIT DEPOSITS AND TO SELF-PROPEL THE HOSE DUE TO THE REACTIVE FORCE OF THE DISCHARGING WATER ON THE FREE END THEREOF; PROPORTIONING THE EFFECTIVE DENSITY OF THE HOSE, STIFFNESS OF THE HOSE, AND WATER FLOW THROUGH THE HOSE TO CAUSE THE FREE END OF THE HOSE TO TRACE A RANDOM CURVILINEAR TRACK OVER THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE POOL, A PREPONDERANCE OF THE TRACK HAVING A RADIUS OF CURVATURE IN EXCESS OF FOUR FEET WHEREBY THE SELF-PROPELLED HOSE WILL RANGE OVER RELATIVELY LARGE DISTANCES WITHIN THE POOL. 